Collingwood’s new 17-year-old youth mayor sat through six hours of budget deliberations this week.
George Hamburg was the winner of the town’s Mayor for a Month program for the fall session, aimed at connecting local youth in grades 7-12 to the town’s local government. He started in the position on Nov. 7.
When he heard the news that he had been selected, he said both he and his parents felt proud.
“I felt really excited, to be honest,” Hamburg told CollingwoodToday in an interview.
To apply, youth were asked to write a short essay, record a video essay, or create an artistic rendering explaining why they would want to be mayor for the month.
The Grade 12 student from Collingwood Collegiate Institute wrote his essay on a bus while travelling to a cross-country meet, where he competed under the school’s banner.
As he plans to apply to post-secondary schools for engineering once he graduates next year, Hamburg thought adding the youth mayor job to his resume might help with that endeavour.
“A lot of engineers end up becoming politicians, or could go different routes. I (wanted to) see if being a politician could be a potential career path and see if I like it,” said Hamburg.
Hamburg works at the Centennial Aquatic Centre, swims with the Collingwood Clippers and participates in multiple sports for his school including cross-country running and volleyball.
So far as youth mayor, Hamburg has met with Mayor Yvonne Hamlin, attended a business ribbon-cutting and attended Collingwood’s Remembrance Day ceremonies. He said his experiences so far have, for him, shed some light on the politicians in town.
“Politicians aren’t totally different from the average person. They’re all just trying to help the town, you know?” he said. “They’re just regular Collingwood citizens who want to do good.”
He attended the Nov. 13 special meeting of council during budget deliberations, taking diligent notes throughout. From his vantage point, he sees the 37-per-cent increase to the Collingwood OPP billing this year as one of the biggest challenges the town is facing.
“I’m not the biggest expert, but the police (cost increase) seems like a really big deal and it’s hurting the whole council on their budget making,” said Hamburg.
Overall, Hamburg said he hopes the learning he does in his role as youth mayor is a two-way street.
“I hope to teach council that some youth are interested in politics. A lot of us do care,” he said. “This is a lovely town.”
